Sales versus Communications Objectives

What are Objectives?

.Although the terms goals and objectives have related meanings, they have important differences within the context of business management. Goals are broad, abstract targets that are often difficult to measure. However, objectives are much more specific. They rely on clearly defined targets, often using numbers and dates to set limits and deadlines. For example, a non-profit organization with a goal of attracting new donors may have a related objective of issuing 10,000 fliers and making 1,000 phone calls by the end of the month

Communications Objectives

A business communications team, or any type of work team with a communications element, is likely to only have objectives that fall within its area of expertise. For example, a public relations department may have an objective of issuing press releases addressing lawsuits within 24 hours. Likewise, a marketing department may be tasked with producing three new ad campaigns for less than $1 million each that bring customer awareness of a new product, as measured in surveys, to 75 percent.

Sales Objectives

Sales objectives rely on statistical data to set target sales levels over time. Sales objectives don't necessarily need to refer to the number of goods a business sells. Instead they could refer to a revenue target, a number of new customers or a particular number of sales for each member of a sale staff. A computer manufacturer may set a sales objective of 200,000 new laptops in the fiscal quarter. However, unless this objective includes the stipulation that all 200,000 models are sold for the full wholesale price, a sales team could reduce prices to increase sales to retailers and meet the objective without benefiting the company.